City Commissioner to Attend Biomass Mediation Session with GRU, GREC

GAINESVILLE - The Gainesville City Commission voted late Thursday to send one of their fellow commissioners to a voluntary meeting that will be held next week over the biomass plant.

In a 4-to-3 vote, commissioners elected to send Todd Chase to a non-binding mediation meeting that will take place next Tuesday in New York.

Chase will be going along with GRU General Manager Bob Hunzinger and the rest of the utility's negotiating team to meet with officials from GREC, the group constructing the plant, in an attempt to find common ground.

City officials contend that GREC improperly sold a controlling share of the facility to a third party and neglected to offer the city a chance to buy the plant, as stipulated in the power purchase agreement.

GREC denies those claims. As a result, both sides are now preparing to head into arbitration.

On Thursday, newly sworn-in Mayor Ed Braddy presided over a special City Commission meeting to get an update on the arbitration. But because of the on-going nature of the process, commissioners and GRU officials were limited in what aspects they could discuss.

If both sides fail to reach an agreement on Tuesday, the official arbitration process is set to begin sometime this fall.